Diamond Stylz! Feb merch! Welcome 2 gender hell!

Hey friends,

Hope you're all hanging in there. Did you get a chance to listen to our episode with Diamond Stylz yet? 

I know I've said this a lot this season, but I really think that Diamond is one of the all-time greats. Not only is she the host of Marsha's Plate; the executive director of Black Trans Women Inc; and a venerated trans elder who transitioned ~25 years ago — she's also an extremely delightful person to speak with.

Topics include:

• Does trans representation actually help trans people?
• The story of a Black trans woman who transitioned in 1865(!) 
• The importance of walking away from people engaging with you in bad faith
• Why equity trainings don’t work
• How a notorious transphobe helped Diamond embrace her singing voice
• How to be a true ally & co-conspirator to Black trans people
• Finding a HRT specialist in the yellow pages
• Being a trans YouTuber in 2008.
• AND MORE!

See what I mean?? It's a really incredible episode. And honestly, I've been a little disappointed in the download numbers for Diamond's ep compared to other episodes this season. Is it misogynoir? Are people just busy? Who knows! Regardless, if you wouldn't mind sharing the episode with a friend, I'd really appreciate it. (Not because we need a certain download number — I just think Diamond is amazing and deserves attention.) 

In other news, our merch shop has been restocked with February designs, including the return of our Nature is Queer & I Am Nature design, which features these cute lil intersex cardinals. 

We've also got three new designs:

"Welcome to Fabulous Gender Hell" by Véronique Emma Houxbois available on a mug, sticker, and tank top (because it's hot in hell!). Proceeds go to the artist and GLITS.

"Make It Gay" and "Make It Trans" by Cassidy Hawk, available in several colors of shirts as well as a sticker and tote bag. Proceeds go to the artist and Trans Women of Color Collective, a former Gender Reveal grant winner :)

And last but not least, this beautiful they/them vinyl sticker by Evren Celik. Proceeds split between the artist and Transgender Law Center's Black LGBTQIA Migrant Project.

There's actually a bit more where that came from, so be sure to take a peek before the end of the month.

Oh gosh, speaking of merch, I got a lot of merch questions recently that prompted me to start a FAQ for our website. It's not published yet, but I wanted to ask: do you have any logistical questions about the podcast, merch store, grants, mutual aid, etc that you think we should answer on the site? Let me knooooooow! (And get ready for me to send you a URL to the FAQ if you ask me a FAQuestion in the future, haha, sorry in advance.) 

This week has been extra hectic because I've been preparing for this week's last-minute surprise guest. Can you guess who it is? This photo is a hint... and another hint is that our guest is not actually IN the photo above. But it's a good hint, I promise! 

(Also, realistically, you'll probably see the episode before you read this newsletter. That's what I get for writing the newsletter while the episode uploads!) 

That's it for this week's newsletter. I'm SO excited to take it easy(ish, lol) for a couple days after working extra-long hours for the last *checks calendar* 8 days? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what else is there to do in a pandemic, lol. 

Here's your weekly Rhubarb.

xoxox,
Yr resident gender detective